The Saint Mary’s Gaels will travel to Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to take on the Utah State Aggies this Thursday night in College Basketball action.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels improved to 7-1 on the season after defeating the UC Riverside Highlanders, 67-50, this past Monday. Saint Mary’s led by just a 30-28 margin at halftime, however, the Gaels were outstanding defensively in the 2nd half and was able to easily pull away for the victory after closing out the final 11:25 of regulation on a 22-6 run. Saint Mary’s shot 50.9% from the field & 34.8% from beyond the arc while allowing UC Riverside to shoot 40.0% from both the field & beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Gaels was Matthias Tass who had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.
On the season, Saint Mary’s is averaging 67.9 ppg on 46.3% shooting from the field. The Gaels are averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game on 35.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Saint Mary’s has been led by Dan Fotu (14.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Tommy Kuhse (10.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.1 spg), Matthias Tass (10.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.1 apg), & Logan Johnson (10.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.0 spg).
Defensively, Saint Mary’s is holding their opponents to an average of 57.6 ppg on 41.0% shooting from the field. The Gaels have a rebound margin of 5.4 and a turnover margin of 0.2.
The Utah State Aggies won their 6th straight game and improved to 6-1 on the season after defeating the Carroll College (MT) Fighting Saints, 93-63, this past Monday. Utah State was outstanding offensively against Carroll College and had no trouble securing the victory after going into halftime with a 55-31 lead. Utah State shot 57.1% from the field & 37.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Carroll College to shoot 42.6% from the field & 44.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Aggies was Justin Bean who had a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 steal.
On the season, Utah State is averaging 81.7 ppg on 49.2% shooting from the field. The Aggies are averaging 9.6 three-pointers per game on 37.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Utah State has been led by Justin Bean (22.6 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.6 spg), Brandon Horvath (14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.4 apg), Brock Miller (10.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.7 apg), & Rylan Jones (9.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.3 spg).
Defensively, Utah State is allowing their opponents to average 68.1 ppg on 40.0% shooting from the field. The Aggies have a rebound margin of 7.3 and are averaging 5.6 steals per game.
The Gaels are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games and 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games vs. Utah State. The Aggies are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games, however, are just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. WCC opponents.
Utah State has been solid this season since their opening season loss to UC Davis, however, this is going to be the toughest defense that the Aggies have faced this season. Saint Mary’s comes into this game ranked 23rd in scoring defense & t-88th in rebound margin and as I’ve been more impressed with what I’ve seen from St. Mary’s in wins over Notre Dame & Oregon, I think the Gaels give the Aggies offense some trouble in this one and at worst cover with the points. Good Luck!